11.12. Climbing up to 30 meters high

We got up early again today, because at half past 7 a climbing agency picked us up and took us to Railay Beach by minivan and longboat. Along the way, we made a stop to collect the climbing equipment, which consisted of a harness, shoes, helmet, and a bag of magnesium. With these, we arrived at the bay, which can only be reached by boat, and immediately started climbing.

We started with a shorter climb, which was quite challenging because we had to work a lot with our arms and they soon started to hurt. But we were rewarded with a fantastic view of the bay where we were climbing.

After a break to rest our tired muscles, I went for the highest climbing ascent of the day. I climbed 30 meters up the rocks. I had to often move to the left and right as there were sometimes no opportunities to move forward directly. I was supported by my professional climbing partner who secured me from below. It seemed like they knew every ledge and crevice to hold on to, and when you couldn't see or feel anything more to move forward, a welcome advice would come from over 20 meters below you. The pride of conquering this climbing passage and safely coming back down was a wonderful compensation for the hard ascent and the self-doubt during it.

Second attempt

Often, I was in a stretching position on the rock

Then came a third and final climbing part for me. This one was even more challenging for my arms as there was a hanging ledge to overcome. After that, my arms were so sore and felt like pudding, so I was looking forward to just relaxing at the beach and enjoying the sea.

That's exactly what we did next, as our climbing organization kindly agreed not to take us back immediately, but to wait for the afternoon course. So we had a few more hours in the beautiful Railay Bay with its fabulous white beaches, stretching in front of a spectacular mountain panorama.

After some time at the western Railay Beach, we climbed the route to a viewpoint, which could be tackled without safety measures due to the lack of steep ascents. The view of the palm-fringed peninsula with the blue sea and the unique mountains in the background was incredibly beautiful - we had arrived in paradise.

After descending, we went to another beach, Ao Phra Nang Beach, where we spent the remaining time until 5 PM and had to meet again at the climbing departure point. With the sun slowly setting, we left this beautiful coastal area that extended into the sea by boat.

Back at the hostel, we had dinner from the night bazaar, which conveniently was right in front of our hostel. After that, we relaxed in the common area making a few phone calls before going to bed, tired from the day.

Tomorrow we will leave Ao Nang, as we don't find the city particularly beautiful and have already visited the beautiful and worth seeing points of the region with a day at Railay Beach and the ascent to the viewpoint at Tiger Cave. We are now going away from the beaches of Southern Thailand inland to the Khao Sok National Park, which consists of the oldest rainforest in the world. There, similar to Sapa, we want to do a multi-day tour with an overnight stay on a lake.